English 1302
Professor Bounds
April 11, 2013
Meaning of Symbol

Being a reader, usual allows the reader to visuals the story or poem in the mind. With many writers, they leave hints and ideas for the audiences to think about and imagine what the writers trying to say. One of the literacy device the used in stories and poems are symbolism. Symbolism is when some aspect of the story, like a person, object, or location, actually represents something else. In addition, symbolism in poems is used to deepen the meaning of their poems. Furthermore, as reader-knowing symbol is suggests a range of additional meaning beyond and usually more abstract than its literal significance. But within a story, and in a poem it could have deeper meaning that writers want to share with all the readers. Like Davidson mentions in his works, “symbolic is related to, but does not replace, the conscious, the superego and culture and the family and society. If language is ‘symbolic’, then it is part of the repression and control of semiotic drives that, appearing on the surface of the poem, disrupt the syntactic and semantic formality of the symbolic order as it structures language.” Knowing the meaning of symbolism, there are many stories and poems that give the readers indication and signs of symbolism. First off, one of many poems that is famous is by Edgar Allen Poe “Annabel Lee”. In the poem, there are couple symbols that stand out, like “the sea” which symbolism the emptiness and isolation that the narrator feels after he has lost the love of his life. Also, the sea is mentioned in "kingdom by the sea", this could symbolize eventually represent the power that people hold. Also, in another symbols that are mention in his poem is “sepulchre”. The sepulchre stands for death, sadness and horror. The sepulchre is used for a cold reality of death in Annabel Lee. This is the only thing that symbolizes that Annabel Lee is dead.

The next poem is “Another New World” by Josh Ritter. The symbol in this poem is “the boat”. As a reader “the boat” is precious to him because he mentions “My Nina, my Piñata, my Santa Maria, my beautiful Annabel Lee”. He used the name of boats as references, which they are important ships to Columbus because it belongs to the King of Spain. The boat is everything to him and he compared it to Annabelle Lee. The second symbolism in this poem is also “Annabelle Lee” the writer is taking one context out of another story to symbolism the importance of this ship to the main characters. Such as “All I’ve got are my guts and my God and the Annabel Lee” it gives us a get understanding that symbols the love that Edgar Allen Poe love for Annabel Lee as in this story how much he loved his precious ship that he loved.

As for stories, there is couple of stories that has explains of symbolism. Such as “Sweat" one of symbolism that happens in this story is “the snake” because from the beginning to the end the snake itself is symbol of Delia fears, troubles, and relief. For example how Delia scared of snakes ”Sykes, what you throw dat whip on me like dat? You know it would skeer me- looks like a snake, an’ you knows how skeered Ah is of snakes” it appears to stand out throughout the whole story she truly afraid of snakes and it has relation how she is trap by Sykes and marriage. Delia wants to be free and be happy. “The snake” is also her relief because the snake killed Sykes. Which he planted in her basket to scared her to death, but ending up what he did got him killed. In which Delia didn’t try to save him even though she could. It was like relief that she wanted to be free from his gasp at last because of the snake.

Finally, there is one last story is “Yellow Wallpaper” Charlotte Perkins Gilman. The symbol is “yellow wallpaper.” She describes it in the story “The color is repellent, almost revolting; a smoldering unclean yellow, strangely faded by the slow-turning sunlight. “ At first, she saw wallpaper